Run up to the Gala

 Week Commencing 20th May 2025

Just a week before the Bank Holiday and our Cotswold Festival of Steam , so it a final push to getting the Station looking its best.

Monday

A quick mow of the driveway grass , saw Ron on the top half and myself doing the bottom.

Kevin tidied up the triangle garden and planted a small tree that nobody could remember what it was ! 

After mowing Ron got to do a bit of weeding .

Ian was on the top strimming the edges.

When I said a bit of weeding , a barrow full or 2 

After a bit of Cafe housekeeping Mike cleaned and painted the white line on platform 2.

All that grass cutting left a bit of a mess on the drive , so we gave ` Billy ` a run out .

Wednesday

Platform 2 has seen more brick work on the far end

A bit of a tidy up under the canopy of the Station Building especially by the wall.

The driveway manhole had a clean out too , except for this stubborn one which refused to budge.

The rocks from the bottom garden got moved up the corner where Ron, Ian and Kevin tried their hand at Cotswold stone walling .

Myself did a bit of colouring in with the new timetable signs , today it is purple !

The 2 Class 2800s were on duty today, 2807  and 3850

Hope those of you coming to the Gala have a great time , myself I'm doing Crossing monitor Duties at

Cheltenham Racecourse on Saturday and Winchcombe on Sunday , so give us a wave.

Dave

Low on numbers !

 Week Commencing 12th May 2025

Monday

Day started off well weather wise for the 4 volunteers that turned up 

Peters job today was to extend the door fasteners on the café door ! The café staff had a problem getting to the fasteners due to them being too high , his solution was to use a longer rod and move the mechanism lower.

Kevin infilled the GWSR sign with decorative stone .

Ian was on the battery brush cutter behind platform 1.

Myself was cutting the grass on platform 1 when the heavens opened up !

Thunder and lightening and torrental rain , time to go home .

Wednesday

Nice Sunny warm day , but still only 4 of us.

Plus the Ravens basking in the morning sun.

Back to cutting the grass on 1 !

The new garden has had a few plants planted in it. Still looks a bit sparse , hopefully they will eventually bush out and fill in the spaces . 

Kevin finished what Ian had started.

All the way to the badger run.

A request from the station staff kept me busy in the afternoon , any guesses what they are for ?

3 locos on duty today were , Foremarke Hall , 3850 and on the afternoon train the Class 20

Dave

Another one day week !

Week Commencing 5th May 2025

Wednesday

Another Bank Holiday Monday so just the Wednesday again.

Over on platform 2 more rows of bricks on the read wall.

Ian was changing the bolts on the shed door .

Rons turn on the platform 1 bank with the new mower .

Ian gave the grass at the bottom a tidy up. on the opposite I was busy with the mower and afterwards Ian came over and strimmed the bits I missed.

Ian , Kevin and young Dave were seen sunning themselves  !

Chris tackled the Dandelions on the bank.

Behind him Ron was finishing off with the strimmer.

The new garden needed topping up with decent soil . Broadway is built on a clay soil , but a source of decent stuff ! was found under the bonfire , a mixture of compost and ash helped to fill up the bed. 

We will let it settle and maybe plant it up next Monday .ready for the Gala at the end of the month.

Locomotives on duty today were.3850 and P&O with 37215 as the Diesel of the day

Dave

 

Sunny Days

 Week Commencing 28th April 2025

2 sunny and warm days this week .

Over on platform 2 more brick laying and the utility room has had a small window frame fitted .

Also in the trees on platform 2 , 4 young Ravens have all fledged, they nested on top of the tall tree on the right and their test flights were quite amusing to watch. 

It was a test day for the new battery powered mower ! Its ideal for the platform 1 with its small slopping bank , light as a feather to push uphill , and has a very good cut . it soon filled the barrow up .

 

Later it was tested on the top of embankment behind platform 1 , and that was a different story , back to the petrol mower !!

Kevin did a bit of weeding in the gardens, Ron was on the drive mowing the grass . And the  emergency pull in the disabled toilets got fixed.

Locomotives on Wednesday duty were , Foremarke Hall and 3850

DAVE

New garden Project !

 Week Commencing 21st April 2025

Monday

Easter Monday so a non attendance day .

Wednesday

6 around today on a damp start day , so unable to mow the grass !!

Over on platform 2 , the brickwork continues to rise at the rear and side.

A little sort of project we had in mind was to change the surrounding of the driveway garden.

previously it had been built with Cotswold stone blocks  , but time and a few hits with the mowers and Strimmers it had started to fall to pieces !

What we have on the railway are a few old sleepers , firstly the removal of the blocks and then digging out a ditch to sink the sleepers into . easier said than done.

Whilst at the bottom of the drive and a look at the last bridge safety barrier strike .The lumps of wood are still there to be seen !

By the end of the day sleeper had been bolted into place and the bit of soil re filled , now on the hunt for more decent soil to top it up and then we can replant it . Maybe we should have pulled the sign up.

Locomotives on duty today were Foremarke Hall and 3850

Dave

Temperamental Machines

 Week Commencing 14th April 2025

Monday

Grand total of 7 were out today must be the weather ! or the company ?

Ron was seen on the platform bank cutting the grass trying to keep away from the many Primroses and now Cowslips .

Wind was just right for a bonfire .

One of the lighter of our brush cutter was being worked on by Peter , we have two heavy Stihl petrol machines and two relative lighter models that are better to use on the banks. Just need to get them going.

Mike undercoated the spear fencing before moving onto cleaning the edging on platform 2 .

On returning from Toddington after a bottle change we noticed that there had been a rapid growth in vegetation down the bottom of the drive . Time to test the Strimmer out .

Less than an hour with the Petrol Strimmer all had succumbed .

When they stopped chatting Ian and Kevin followed me and raked up the debris.

Wednesday

Over on platform 2 Brick laying continued .

Peter had got the small yellow brush cutter going .

But the driven lawn mower started playing up . This mower is one of our favourites as it doesn't need to be pushed up the drive slope, it can pull itself up and the operator !!

Kevin was at the bottom of the drive trying to find a soft spot to plant a donated tree , 3 holes later !!

Locomotives on duty today were Foremarke Hall and 3850

Pulling the afternoon train back to Toddington was 47105

Dave